And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.” And the Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.
(Exodus 14:13-15)
I decided to stop putting “storm” in my navigation system.
There’s a saying: you’re either coming out of a storm, going through a storm, or going into one. For the longest time, I lived in unshakable anticipation of a storm, believing that the true testament of my faith was in my ability to endure struggle. My ability to be a strong Black woman. My ability to go through hell and back. But why on earth are we constantly putting hell in our GPS?
The story of the children of Israel is one of the best in the Bible for exposing the patterns of humanity (Exodus 1-14). God allowed them to live in Egypt to escape famine. Over time, the place that was meant to be their relief became a place of pain because the new Pharaoh wanted to suppress their potential, so he enslaved them. God, being an amazing Father, saw fit to pull them out of Egypt because it no longer served its purpose. He promised to lead them to a land flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8).
Upon their deliverance, there was a moment when they wanted to put the storm back in their GPS, thinking it was better to return to Egypt (Exodus 14:12). Just like them, we often desire better but fear the process of pursuing it. Even in 2024, we are still actively choosing to put storms in our navigation systems while simultaneously asking God for sunshine and clear skies. We may think our ability to endure struggle is a testament of our faith, but there’s another side of faith that looks like fighting to thrive. It’s about recognizing that your Father in heaven has prepared so much more ahead for you. Trusting Him means you don’t have to drown in a storm to prove your love. Sometimes, the real proof is in building the ark that will protect you, having the patience to stay in it until the storm is gone, or having the boldness of Jesus to command peace to the storm (Mark 4:39).
Storms, struggles, wilderness, adversity—whatever you call it, none of us can avoid it. But we can make decisions to get through them quicker and better. Unfortunately, many of us have built our identities around fighting the storm. There’s nothing wrong with fighting, but the problem is that many of us are fighting backwards rather than forwards. We’re still dealing with past trauma, heartbreak, experiences, and failures, fighting to win a battle that’s already won. The true victory is not being without scars, but being out of the fight. We can’t move forward because we’re still fighting the ghosts of our past enemies.
When you get a chance, please read the book of Exodus. Notice that God did not have the children of Israel turn around and fight those who pursued them. Instead, He told them to keep moving forward (Exodus 14:13-14). He was already dealing with the things behind them. They only needed to focus on what was ahead. There’s a fight coming, but you don’t want to waste your energy fighting what wants to destroy you. Fight forward. Fight for your peace. Fight for your land. If you’re going to fight, fight to be whole. Fight to be healthy. Fight to be happy!
The real act of faith and obedience is daring to take on the giants in the promised land, not going back to fight the Egyptians of your past. Hear me clearly: I’m not saying a fight doesn’t come with our journey. I’m saying we have to evaluate what side of the fight we’re on, what we’re fighting for, and who we’re fighting with. I’m not saying a storm won’t be part of your journey, but after the storm, there should be peace. Noah’s storm was to usher humanity into a better state (Genesis 6-9). There was only one Noah’s ark. If you’re repeatedly building arks, fighting Egyptians, or finding yourself in the belly of the whale, it could indicate a cycle that needs to be broken (Jonah 1-2). If you’re tired of being broken break the patterns that keep redirecting you to brokenness.
The Bible tells us the Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Let’s make the intentional effort to fight forward. Righteousness doesn’t mean you’re always right or perfect. It means you’re in right standing with God. You can be doing everything right but standing on the wrong side of your destiny. I believe God desires for us to be on the right side of abundance, to have joy, and to have peace. Let’s have the courage to believe that what’s ahead of us is better than what’s behind. And when we see a storm coming, let’s believe God for the ability to build an ark and the wisdom to know when to get on it.
I pray before the year ends, your cycles are broken, and you find your heart and mind ushered into a new land, a fresh wind, a fresh anointing, a fresh start.
Love, Peace, and TEA!
Ebony
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